[Bea Moon] Maggie is jilted, fired from her job, and facing down the poverty wolves. She picks up the pieces, decides that love is a four-letter word and banishes it forever from her life. Her resolve begins to crumble when David wanders in – David, the kind of guy who makes Maggie’s hormones override all her resolve. But he’s a mystery man, and as Maggie grows more and more interested in him, her life takes a startling new direction.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How did you come up with the concept and the characters for the story?

[Bea Moon] A difficult question. The characters sort of came to life on their own. Once they established themselves, my outline flew out the window and the story, like Maggie’s love life, took new and unexpected paths. I had fun with it, as I allowed the characters to lead me on in their adventures

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three words best describe Maggie?

[Bea Moon] Beautiful, impetuous, scared

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If David had a theme song, what would it be?

[Bea Moon] One Night With You

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Name one thing Becca is never without.

[Bea Moon] Her sense of victimhood or Doc, the cat

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things will you never find in Maggie’s bedroom?

[Bea Moon] A man, a picture of Andy, a cookbook

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is Pat’s greatest regret?

[Bea Moon] Her series of dead end romances

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What are your greatest creative influences?

[Bea Moon] Life itself. Curiosity about what makes us tick. The people I’ve known, conversations I’ve overheard, stories that have been told to me – all of these things are like a vast stew from which stories arise.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things do you need in order to write?

[Bea Moon] Butt. To. Chair.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is the last book that you read that knocked your socks off?

[Bea Moon] I love to read, and books that I enjoy fill different needs. I can sigh over the romantic adventures of Crimson Romance heroines, or laugh at the antics of the characters in The Disremembered Man. Jane Austen books open up a world that no longer exists. Or Gone With The Wind, a prototype romance novel. So depending on my mood, any book has the potential to knock my socks off.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If you had to pick one book that turned you on to reading, which would it be?

You can order Cupid’s Revenge from your favorite bookseller or by clicking the link below:

About the book:

After being dumped by her cheating boyfriend, Maggie Tyler’s inner crazy person is about to be unleashed. Once free, Crazy Lady wreaks havoc on Maggie’s orderly life. By the time she wrestles the monster back into its cage, Maggie is fired from her cushy position as an executive assistant. Out of work, and unemployable, she’s forced to take a job manning the balloon stand at Party World. She wears a furry Binky the Baboon costume, hoping no one from her past will see her. All goes well until a wise-ass teenager opens the floodgates for an encore performance of Crazy Lady. Maggie is canned once again.

With the bill collectors swarming like sharks, she is forced to take a job tending bar at Frank’s Rock Club. Complications mount when her sullen teenage niece Becca arrives for the summer, along with a stray and very battle-scarred cat. As Maggie begins her new life, she jettisons her most destructive habits…smoking and love, and is joined on her journey by her friend, Pat, an emotionally battered veteran of the dating scene who bears the skid marks of too many failed relationships. Despite her resolve, Maggie finds herself drawn to David, a man of mystery. Is he the man of her dreams or the stuff of her worst nightmare?

As Maggie, Pat and Becca pick their way along the road toward true love, they find themselves facing unforeseen roadblocks.. not the least of which is organized crime. Is Mystery Man a criminal? Will Frank turn out to be Pat’s soulmate? Will the arrival of Becca’s mom throw ice water on her burgeoning romance? Does love triumph? Well, of course!

About the author:

Bea Moon is a former Vermonter, who made a beeline to South Florida at the first opportunity. She’s worked at many things, from waitress to executive secretary, with stopovers as newspaper columnist and freelance editor. She’s eighty years old and still doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up.

Nichole Giles, author of Descendant, recently visited the virtual offices. Check out what she had to say, and then enter her tour wide giveaway!

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Describe yourself in 140 characters or less.

[Nichole] Author, wife, mother who loves to read, write, travel, drive with the top down, and play music at full volume so I can sing along.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Can you tell us a little about Descendant?

[Nichole] Descendant is the story of Abby, who has spent her whole life running from things that happened way before she was born, things she doesn’t understand, but that have something to do with special abilities she inherited from her ancestors. And then her grandmother dies and everything changes. Abby and her mother move to a new town where Abby meets Kye, who also has special abilities, and he seems to know why she’s spent her life running. Then the darkness catches up, sending Abby and Kye on the run together, but this journey, one way or another, might be their last.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How did you come up with the concept and the characters for the story?

[Nichole] The concept was sort of an evolving thing, but it began when I attended an energy healing workshop run by a dear friend. As I listened to her talk about balancing chakras and energy work, the story started to take shape in my mind.

Abby and Kye had both been talking to me for years. Until I started writing, I did my best to ignore them. When you’re a writer and hear voices in your head, it’s cool. When you don’t know you’re a writer, you wonder if you’re crazy. So after I began writing, and after the energy workshop where I had the concept idea, Abby kind of jumped up and grabbed hold of the story and was like, “This. This is my story.” And obviously, Kye came along for the ride too.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three words best describe Abby?

[Nichole] Compassionate, fierce, innocent.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If Kye had a theme song, what would it be?

[Nichole] I’m going to say Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol. Kind of sums up the confusion he feels when he first sees Abby.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Name one thing Abby is never without.

[Nichole] Her healing crystals.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things will you never find in Kye’s pockets?

[Nichole] Pills, cigarettes, a cafeteria lunch ticket

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is Abby’s greatest regret?

[Nichole] That she can’t save everyone she has ever loved who has suffered or died for whatever reason.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What are your greatest creative influences?

[Nichole] Music, driving, and life. I listen to music all the time, but usually not when I’m writing. Generally, driving around with the right music can help me solve about any plot/character problem I’m trying to solve. Especially long drives in canyons or near water like a beach or lake.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is the last book that you read that knocked your socks off?

[Nichole] Between drafting and editing (I have another book on submission, which is a totally different series from Descendant), my to-be-read pile has grown taller than me, and continues to grow daily, because I haven’t been reading as fast as usual. But if I have to pick one that really stands out in my mind, I’m going to say Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Also, I very much loved Surrender by Elana Johnson, and Everneath by Brodi Ashton.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If you had to pick one book that turned you on to reading, which would it be?

[Nichole] When I was young, I was so in love with the Nancy Drew series. I used to save all my babysitting money to buy them, because there was something so special about owning my own copies, even if I’d checked out the same ones from the library. As a teenager, I moved around a lot, and my books were lost (or accidentally discarded) in one of many moves. Discouraged, I focused on music and theatre for a while. It wasn’t until I was a mother with young children that I picked up a fiction book and rediscovered my insatiable love of reading.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?

[Nichole] I love to spend time with my husband and our four teenagers. We’re big fans of travelling and trips to the beach. I also like shopping.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How can readers connect with you?

[Nichole] I blog twice a week at nicholegiles.blogspot.com, and am also on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Thank you for participating in the Descendant blog tour! I appreciate your willingness to help spread the word.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Thanks for stopping by!

Giveaway Time!

Nichole is sponsoring a massive giveaway during the blog tour of DESCENDANT! Please fill out the form to enter!

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About DESCENDANT: Seventeen-year-old Abigail Johnson is Gifted.

Blessed-or cursed-with Sight and Healing, Abby lives an unsettled life, moving from place to place and staying one step ahead of the darkness that hunts her. When she arrives in Jackson, Wyoming, she is desperate to maintain the illusion of normalcy, but she is plagued with visions of past lives mixed with frightening glimpses of her future. Then she meets Kye, a mysterious boy who seems so achingly familiar that Abby is drawn to him like he’s a missing piece of her own soul.

Before Abby can discover the reason for her feelings toward Kye, the darkness catches up to her and she is forced to flee again. But this time she’s not just running. She is fighting back with Kye at her side, and it’s not only Abby’s life at stake.

Praise for DESCENDANT: "A hot new spin on paranormal, Descendant is refreshingly imaginative and powerful. I can’t decide which was best — piecing together Abby’s sinister past or keeping up with her heartbreaking future. If you like your YA laced with melt-my-heart romance and a good helping of heart-pounding suspense, you’ll love this book!" — Michelle Davidson Argyle, author of The Breakaway

"Nichole Giles has crafted a story that breathes from the pages. Her characters are authentic, the action intense, with powerful emotions that will keep Descendant on your mind long after the book ends. Open your eyes to another facet of our world in Descendant and you’ll be sucked into an adventure with Abby and Kye, that will explore the power of gifts, courage, and love. With top-notch writing, Giles has crafted a story that breathes from the pages." –Rachelle J. Christensen, award-winning author of Wrong Number and Caller ID

"Nichole Giles brings a fresh new voice and flawless writing technique to the world of Young Adult fiction. I was swept away to another place and never wanted to come back." –Tristi Pinkston, author of Turning Pages and the Secret Sisters mystery series

"This debut novel delivers in all the right ways, with heart-pounding action and a delicious romance that sweeps centuries. I loved it!" –Elana Johnson, author of Possession and Surrender

About Nichole Giles: Nichole Giles was born in Nevada, and moved with her parents to a number of cities in and around the West. Writing is her passion, but she also loves to spend time with her husband and four children, travel to tropical and exotic destinations, drive in the rain with the convertible top down, and play music at full volume so she can sing along.